Objective: The study was aimed to analyze expected incidence of birth defects as a whole and some selected types of birth defects on the basis of the mean values over the period of 1983–2002 in the Czech Republic. A possible incidence of birth defects in the Czech Republic in the coming years was evaluated. Design: A statistical estimate and analysis of the expected incidence based on retrospective values of incidence of birth defects from the data of the Institute of the Care of Mother and Child (UPMD) and the Institute of Medical Information and Statistics of the Czech Republic (UZIS). Methods: The estimate of incidence of birth defects as a whole as well as according to individual selected types with the application of exponential adjustment of time series with the time-weighted parameter for individual years of the retrospective period of time. Results and conclusions: The statistical estimate indicates that 1 244 767 children should be born in the Czech Republic over the period of 2003–2015. In this period of time there should be 50,706–67,628 prenatally and postnatally diagnosed cases of birth defects in this republic. These our results represent an estimate of birth defects in the Czech Republic in the coming years and draw attention to the importance of registry of birth defects in the Czech Republic. The epidemiology of birth defects actually represents a multidisciplinary branch, which is primarily aimed at and providing data for the evaluation of quality of prenatal and postnatal care in the Czech Republic.

        Key words: birth defect, prenatal diagnostics, epidemiology, incidence, estimate, anencephaly, spina bifida, neural tube defects, omphalocele, gastroschisis, abdominal wall defects, cystic kidney, agenesis/hypoplasia of kidney, Down syndrome